Preview: Islanders vs. Sabres

New York Islanders (12-14-6) vs. Buffalo Sabres (12-12-8)

Gionta was officially signed by the Islanders to a one-year, two-way contract on Wednesday and recalled from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Islanders are now carrying 13 forwards, so it's unclear whether Gionta will debut against the Sabres, but he did center Cal Clutterbuck and Nikolay Kulemin at Thursday's practice.
"Casey is a huge part of our team and not having him in the lineup is extremely tough," Gionta said. "I'll try to fill in as best I can and hopefully get in some PK time, bring a lot of energy and hopefully do what I brought to the team in camp."

The veteran grinder signed a PTO with the Islanders during training camp, but a broken foot derailed his bid for a contract out of camp.
"Yeah that was tough, but that's hockey, you put yourself in harm's way and stuff happens," Gionta, a veteran of 270 NHL games, said. "It's unfortunate, but I'm here now, it's in the past and I just have to go forward from here."
Gionta rehabbed his foot on Long Island and played seven games with the Sound Tigers, so he said he's familiar with the Islanders style of play.
"The start of training camp and a couple games there definitely helped transition into the systems there and learning the PK and forecheck," Gionta said. "Being around the rehab also helped me, watching video and stuff."
Jack Capuano said he plans to evaluate the health of his team before committing to a lineup for Friday night.

John Tavares Practices:

After taking a maintenance day on Wednesday, John Tavares was back on the ice for the Islanders' practice on Thursday. The Isles captain said he's feeling good to go for Friday night's tilt vs. the Sabres.
"I needed a day to recover a little bit, there's been a lot of hockey lately," Tavares said. "Good to be back out there today."
Tavares and Brock Nelson both practiced on the top line at Thursday's practice, likely as a contingency plan in case Tavares isn't good to go on Friday night.

Kyle Okposo Returns:

The New York Islanders have already seen Kyle Okposo in a Buffalo Sabres jersey this season, but the fans will get their chance when Okposo visits Barclays Center on Friday.
Okposo spent nine years and 529 games with the Islanders before departing as a free agent this summer. The former Islander has 22 points (9G, 13A) in 30 games with the Sabres.

Islanders Looking To Turn Tables on Sabres:

The Islanders and Sabres play for the second time in eight days on Friday night; Buffalo took the last meeting in Buffalo 3-2 in overtime. The Islanders were travelling on the second half of a back-to-back set against a rested Sabres team, but this time it's the travelling Sabres who take on a rested Islanders squad. That can be an advantage late in the game, but John Tavares said the Islanders - who have had two days off - need to be wary of the Sabres early, as they'll have the adrenaline from playing the night before.
"Sometimes a team coming off a back-to-back they are coming off being engaged in the battle and are ready to go off the drop of the puck," Tavares said. "Sometimes when you're off for a couple of days you have to get out there for the first couple of shifts and get into it."
"[We have to] go to the front of the net, get some pucks on net, battle in the corners, finish a check, whatever it takes to get you involved and get the game going and get the rust off," Tavares added.
The Sabres are 0-2-1 in their last three and are coming off a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Islanders are coming off a 4-2 win over the Boston Bruins and are looking to take some momentum into the holiday break.
"We just want to find ways to build on that and make it tough on teams to generate anything. Its's a great opportunity tomorrow to try to finish on a good note before a few days off and the holiday, so we want to carry over the result, but we know we can still play a lot better."